


The Lemonade Recipe

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Food, Squabbling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 23:20:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4324710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pearl and Amethyst- well, mostly Pearl, are sent on a mission- to make lemonade. Sometimes, one has to rely on their "gut feeling" to know when something is fishy.<br/>A oneshot with casual references to other things and very bad puns. 3rd person Pearl POV. Not really a Pearlmethyst fic, but sort of?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Lemonade Recipe

          It was another blue-skied, cloudless day over the coast. For three of the Crystal Gems, there was nothing to do. Pearl had done the chores. Garnet and Amethyst had filled the missions.

          "GEEEMS!" Steven burst through the old, red-coated door, its creaky hinges too many times replaced on either side of the doorframe.

          "Oops- sorry," he said, gently closing the door behind him.

          The Crystal Gems acted natural. Garnet sat on the long end of the L-shaped couch, crossing her arms expectantly. She was unsurprised. Pearl sat right next to her, flicking through the news of the Beach City Bugle. Unfortunately, no matter where she looked- even the crude unpleasing scribbles intended to be "comics" featured the very sweaty, very red mayor of the city. Needless to say, the papers were boring. Amethyst was snoozing under  a patch of sunlight, making the most of her break.

          "Alright- GEMS!" Steven started again. "As proud citizens of good old Delmarva, it's time to show our _national spirit_!" Pearl looked up, one eyebrow raised.

          "You mean another revolution?" she asked incredulously. "Well I mean, revolutions are great and all, but goodness I'm sick of that trend and am glad with it staying dead for another century."

          "No, you guys. A _LEMONADE STAND_! Look at this concept art, see! It's a total summer tradition!" He huffed proudly. Garnet stared at the scribble in permanent marker. She laid her eyes back on him. He wilted under her look.

          "... Oookay, well it's to show our national spirit, but-also-Connie-and-I-are-saving-up-for-the-new-Unfamiliar-Familiar-video-game. But look! We want to earn the money ourselves."

          Garnet nodded. "Well then, good for you. But what do you want us for?"

          Steven jumped up, bright-eyed. "I'm glad you asked! Garnet, you can come with me and Connie to build the stand and make flyers. Pearl, could you and Amethyst come up with a recipe? Thanks guys, see you at 3!" Before either Pearl or Amethyst could interject, Garnet burst out the door, Steven under one arm, a stack of supplies in the other.

          And so, the pastel gem and the purple gem were left standing in the kitchen, to their own devices.

          "Come on, Amethyst," Pearl snapped. "Help me make a recipe for this... 'lemonade.'" Amethyst rolled over and continued to doze on her back, mouth wide and dripping with drool, left arm resting over her stomach. Pearl muttered under her breath. She would have to do this on her own.

          She dug out a slightly musty cookbook on the table and brushed a bit of old silt off to reveal the cover: The Pizza Family's Traditional Cookbook: For those Who Need to Cook But Cannot Cook, the revised edition, now with simple recipes even children can follow. This "lemonade" seemed simple enough to concoct. Not that she knew how to make such a thing, but no one could possibly mess this up, could they?

          She flipped the cookbook to the table of contents. Appetizers, snacks, desserts... ah, beverages. Then it directed her to page 192- but oh, how splendid, look at that adorable human tea advice on page 235... Perhaps it might not be too bad if she just- no. She steeled her gaze. For Steven. Back to 129.

          She brought out a stack of measuring cups, a clear plastic pitcher, and whatever else Steven had left within his cupboards. She focused her eyes, her heart, her soul into the little letters and numbers that comprised the page. Perfectionism was her specialty, one of her prized qualities. And following instructions- deceptively concealed as cooking, was what humans would call a "piece of cake." With a little twirl of her fingers, she spun everything together. The perfect blend of everything. And so she continued, absorbed in her dancing performance of nutrient-stirring.

          Wiping the sweat she assumed she would have off her brow, she was finished at last. It was nothing less than expected from herself. Now to put it to the test. She called out loudly to the gem who had been dozing on the sofa the entire time.

          "I'm up, I'm up!" the snoozer called back, propping up her small figure with two rough limbs and leaping to her feet.

          "Ooh P, you did it! Sweet!" Amethyst marched over and in a flash gulped down half a jug. Pearl watched.

          In almost as quick a time as it took for her to down the mixture, her look of elation melted to one of disgust. She spat down at the ground, wiping her tongue with her fingers furiously.

          "Yyyeeeuck!!! Are you _trying_ to kill everyone?!" she yelled. "This is totally gross! I usually don't care but... Eughh!"

          Pearl was shocked. Her expectation of pride and satisfaction was crushed.

          "G- _gross_? How could that be? I followed every instruction! I measured to the milliliter!" she squawked, disbelieved. She flapped the open cookbook and brandished it angrily into the other gem's face. "Look at this! And you never helped at all!"

          "Well then it's your _recipe_ that's real wrong, you mega dinkoid," Amethyst said, still standing by her first accusation. She brushed off the latter remark with a sneer. "You _know_ me and my style. Sorry I didn't get a few more thousand years to _mature._ "

          Pearl turned away, hurt. She checked the cookbook again and lifted one thumb away from the page, and some dust rubbed off with it. Slowly, in horror, Pearl glanced at the leftover ingredients strewn across the counter, then back at the cookbook again. Oh, no. It was a recipe based on traditional homemade fish stew- in fact, looking closer at the title of the guide, it was a manual completely and solely for fish stew-based recipes. And the one she had selected was a recipe for fish stew lemonade- that is to say, it was a recipe for disaster.  No wonder- she had been quite skeptical of when the book asked her to use fish in the concoction. Amethyst looked on, unsurprised.

          The clock chimed 3 in the afternoon. Oh heavens no. No no no no no. Panic flooded Pearl's mind. She had spent so much focused time following fishy instructions and now she could only wait for the disappointment on the little boy's rosy face. Her body numbed over with invisible ice.

          A casual hand reached up and slapped her shoulder. Amethyst, calmed down and cool in the face of deadlines gazed nonchalantly at the mess.

          "Chillax P... I got this." She smirked. She knew very well how Pearl was. She knew her real good. In under a minute, Amethyst, without a single glimpse at the steps tossed in a bunch of items into a jug, taking sips every few seconds. The clock was counting down, and Pearl was internally screaming.

          Before she could unthaw her limbs the creaky door crashed open again, most certainly now, as dead as Pearl's hope. Steven and Garnet had returned. They were covered in sawdust and marker. They were fruitful.

          "Go long, dude!" The boy caught the finished jug of cold-stirred liquid Amethyst tossed at him. He poured out some into a small cupped hand and sipped.

          "Amethyst, this is AWESOME! This is the BEST lemonade I've ever had!" He and Garnet once again left them, taking the jug and running back out.

          "'Saved yo butt, nerd."

          "B-b-b-b... H-How did you do that?" Pearl asked in awe, gaining back her mobility. Amethyst winked knowingly.

          "It's the same for everything. For yourself to know 'em reeeal good, you actually gotta _taste_ 'em."


End file.
